Politicians don't deserve high office due to their popularity alone, Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said Friday after the deadly storming of the US Congress in Washington DC by president Donald Trump supporters.
"What happened in Washington shocked me. It was an out and out attack on American democracy," Di Maio, a member of the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement, told Italy's Corriere della Sera daily.
"Democracy needs better people who are fit for office. To be so certainly requires more than popularity on social media," Di Maio underlined.
The death-toll from Wednesday's riots on Capitol Hill on Friday rose to five when a policeman died from injuries he sustained while 'physically engaging' with the pro-Trump mob. Among the four others killed was a demonstrator shot by authorities. Three people died in what police called “medical emergencies”.
Wednesday’s breach of the Capitol complex came as Congress was certifying the victory of President-elect Joe Biden, and has prompted Democratic leaders to demand Trump's immediate removal from office.
The Capitol Hill attack took place hours after Trump urged his supporters to stage protests there to protest the "stolen" November 3 presidential election.
